Our Call to Action

During the past 44 yrs (since the close of Vatican II), the Roman Catholic
hierarchy have been drawing a line in the sand.

As those years passed, that line has become deeper and wider separating those
who saw the hope and possibilities of Vatican II and those who did not.

We who believe in Vatican II are aging. Our time is passing as we struggle in a
church that is fortifying the trench it has built. They have created an
adversarial relationship which forces us to respond.

Vatican II Roman Catholics have spent the past 44 yrs trying to reform a
hierarchy who does not want to be reformed but, rather, clings to their power
and position and uses them to destroy all opposition without charity or
compassion.

Some Vatican II Roman Catholics have remained in parishes in an attempt to
reform from within. Limited successes have encouraged them to rally around
those parishes where the embers continue to glow however dimly. They choose to
live in those communities knowing that the full weight of the hierarchy may fall
upon them at any moment without provocation or warning. They know, in the
final analysis, they will have no recourse but to submit.

Some Vatican II Roman Catholics have formed small intentional Eucharistic
communities or house churches. This can be very satisfying for those who
belong. It empowers and fortifies them to go out and live the gospel in ways
they find meaningful and significant. Personally, I wonder if the existence of
these communities contributes to the life of the institutional church as much as
they could. My experience of many years with these communities suggests that
they tend to be good for the group but contribute little to changes in the
church at large.

Some Vatican II Roman Catholics have left the Roman church and joined other
Christian communities. Some have found a level of satisfaction while others
still hope to fill that place in their soul that longs for what once was.

Some Vatican II Roman Catholics have joined or formed independent Catholic
churches which model their vision of what the Roman church could be. Speaking
from my own experience again, I would say that this is a difficult path to
follow although tens of thousands of good people are making it work for them in
hundreds of communities throughout the world.

Some Vatican II Roman Catholics have simply dropped out and become unchurched.
Years of frustration within the church drove me to make this choice myself for
more than 20 yrs. Eventually, I needed to find my way back to the church I love
and have dedicated myself to.

So, today is the day of days! It is the day that the call goes out to all who
will listen to it. The time is now!

All Vatican II Roman Catholic clergy and laywomen and laymen MUST cross the
line! It is time to stand with Jesus and stand up to the hierarchy. Enough is
enough!

We MUST take back our church! We MUST assume our rightful place in the Roman
Catholic Church! We ARE the Body of Christ! We ARE the People of God! We ARE
the daughters and sons of our loving God Who made us in His own image and
likeness!

We have not sought this battle but we will not run from it!

WE MAY SOON FIND OURSELVES WITH NO MORE TOMORROWS.

WE MUST STAND UP AND STAND TOGETHER AND DO IT NOW! ! ! !

Jerry, COSF
  

Our Statement of Intent:

            The Society of Blessed John XXIII is an international society of Roman Catholics who wish to live their faith in the full Spirit of the Second Vatican Council, which was called by Pope John XXIII and convened from 1962 to 1965.

            Some of us are Roman Catholics who have for years been working for reform within the structure of the Church and, having been frustrated in that attempt, wish to quietly live out our Vatican II faith while letting the rest of the Church peacefully go their own way.  While we have not given up the hope that some day the whole Church will adopt the reforms needed to fully implement the documents of Vatican II in the Spirit of Blessed John XXIII, we have accepted the fact that the current bent of the hierarchy means that it will not happen in our lifetimes.  Not wishing conflict with others in the Church, we intend to cease our attempts at reform, and simply proceed to live our faith as best we can within the Church as it is.

            Others of us left the Roman Catholic Church and joined other churches whose doctrine and practice were more in line with our conception of what the Church should be.  Most of us became Old Catholics or Independent Catholics.  Some of us even became Protestants for a while.  Some dropped out entirely and became unchurched. Gradually we have come back to the Roman Church, attending Mass at a progressive parish (if we could find one).  But hierarchical pressures on even the best of parishes have made this almost impossible.  We now intend to create our own parishes, missions, and intentional communities under the protection of the Society, remaining fully Roman Catholic, while operating free of the rigid dictates of hierarchical interference.

             We have valid Catholic bishops in apostolic succession who have agreed to assist us in this endeavor.  Some of our clergy are Roman Catholic priests who, having left active ministry for various reasons, are returning to serve the Society's parishes.  Others are validly ordained clergy from the Old Catholic/ Independent Catholic movement who have joined us.  If additional clergy are needed, they will be raised up from within the laity, elected by the people, and ordained by our bishops in apostolic succession.

             Because we are “conservative” and “traditional” Roman Catholics (in the true sense of those words), we will be returning to some practices of the Early Church which have long been neglected, but which are in the Spirit of Vatican II.  Among these practices are the election of bishops by the people, ordination without regard to marital status, gender, or sexual orientation, and ownership of property by the people rather than by the hierarchy.

             It is our hope that, having gone through the painful separation from and reconciliation with the Society of St. Pius X, the Church will not pressure us or threaten us with excommunication.  We do not condemn or denigrate any other part of the Church.  (Nor do we condemn or denigrate Christians who are not Roman Catholic.)  We wish only to be allowed to practice our faith within the Church in accord with the dictates of our conscience.

Join us NOW!

Go to the Contact page.  

Peace and continued blessings,

Archbp. Robert M. Bowman, COSF - Melbourne, FL
Fr. Jerry Brohl, COSF - Wyandotte, MI
Mr. Michael Iott - Eaton Rapids, MI



"...the moment has come to discern the signs of the times, to seize the opportunity and to look far ahead."

Blessed John XXIII